Introduction: Digital Media and Migration: Narratives, Activism, and Resistance Chapter in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • This introduction examines the intersection of digital media, activism, and migration at the Mexico-United States border, discussing how migrant communities use digital technologies to challenge restrictive policies and construct alternative narratives. The analysis covers 2017¿2025, marked by intensified anti-immigration discourse during Trump¿s administrations, which created new contexts for digital resistance and transnational solidarity. The book is structured around three axes: digital artistic activism through cinema, multimedia performances, and music; migrant agency through social media, digital archives, and community organizing; and emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and new journalistic practices. The exploration reveals how digital platforms have transformed cultural practices and social imaginaries, creating spaces for marginalized voices while presenting challenges through algorithmic discrimination. The analysis demonstrates that migrants have evolved from passive subjects to active agents who construct their own narratives and communities through digital tools. These practices include digital storytelling projects, interactive murals with QR codes, community archives, and hybrid artivism forms that combine physical and virtual spaces. This review contributes to understanding how digital technologies both empower and limit migrant activism, emphasizing the need for critical approaches to ensure these tools promote human rights and amplify migrant voices. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

publication date

  • January 1, 2025